Ch4
Previous: Mohan Mine Mayhem Chapter 4: Wolfpack Wrestle : Everander, Boastpachy, Raphael, and Hadrian drove off Glix, killed his men, and found their spoils ... a large pile of gold! Upon further inspection of the goblin lair, the group discovered a hidden area in the back where they came upon an alchemist lab as well as a mysterious note. The note detailed, in grammar that seemed to be simple in an overly eloquent way, that a sum of money would be exchanged for the dispatch of a group of intruders, and how the eye of the 'big one' was required as proof of the job complete. The bottom of the page had a very interesting symbol on the bottom of a face with only one eye; a symbol known to Hadrian and Everander as that of the One-Eye. Further inspection of the cave proved no fruitful results. : Upon exiting the mine, the group noticed a stark drop in temperature. Though it was autumn, the sudden temperature drop still seemed somewhat out of place, but with nothing remaining to work with by the mine, the group headed back to town. : Uptal's Boys arrived in Falcon's Village at dusk, with Everander and Raphael heading to meet up with Uptal, and Boastpachy and Hadrian to head to the temple to pay their dues. Everander walked in on Uptal hosting a small dinner with Dinder and Lord Hawklight. While Uptal prepared Everander's fee, Dinder too the opportunity to trade shots with Everander. Everander took Dinder's wine glass as well as the reward money from Uptal and departed. : Hadrian and Boastpachy made their way to the temple, donating 10% of their loot to the church. After they made their donations, one of the other deacons of the temple approached them and explained that the adnormally cold winter air they were experiencing might have something to do with a problem at the Forest Shrine and that a priest named Aelos Feywood was needing an escort to the shrine to purify it and appease the Spirit of the Forest. Aelos requested that Hadrian bring his fellow companions, Everander and Raphael, as the way may be trecherous and filled with hostile wolves. : The next morning, after making a few purchases, Uptal's Boys metup at the temple and departed for the Forest Shrine in eastern Falcon Forest. They had been on the road for an hour when they were suddenly attacked by a would-be assassin. Boastpachy took a vicious arrow to the chest, nearly killing her. Hadrian and Everander pelted the assassin from afar with alchemist fires and spells as the assassin stood high up in a tree raining down arrows on the group. Though nearly fatally wounded, Boastpachy quickly quaffed a potion of cure light wounds, pulled out her pistol, and put a bullet through the assassin's chest, killing him. : Searching through the assassin's equipment, the gorup discovered that he possessed a note that indicated that the assassin was hired to kill Uptal's Boys. The signature on the note was again the symbol of One-Eye. Everander was able to confirm that the symbol was scribed by the same individual who scribed the note found on Glix. : The group continued on, finally arriving at the Forest Shrine. The shrine seemed to be old as trees had begun growing over the stone walls of the shrine, seemingly fitting for a shrine to a forest spirit. The group arrived and inspected the inside, only for Aelos to discover that the Heart of Winter had been taken from the Shrine. As this new information was relayed to the group, a dark storm cloud rolled in above the group and suddenly, the Spirit of the Forest appeared before them with hostile intent. He began attacking and was about to vanquish the group when Aelos began channeling some sort of magic that seemed to bind the Spirit to the alter in the middle of the shrine. He yelled for the group to hurry and follow the tracks to find the Heart of Winter. : Deep into Falcon Forest the group followed the tracks, all the way into the hidden wood known as the Shattered Veil where trees grew twisted and twisted. There, they followed the wolf tracks into a small opening that lead into a much larger wolf's den. In the middle of the den they saw a man sitting on a make-shift chair with a wolf on either side of him. Around his neck, he wore the Heart of Winter. Upon the arrival of the intruders, the man directed the two wolves at his side to attack the intruders before changing into a werewolf and also engaging in combat. : Though the group was overwhelmed, they were able to kill the wolves as well as defeat the werewolf, securing the Heart of Winter. Everander's eyes, however, seemed to grow hungry with the power that seems to emanate from the artifact ... Next: ???